Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§14102 Selection Boards: Appointment and Composition

Title 10 › Subtitle E — Reserve Components › PART III — PROMOTION AND RETENTION OF OFFICERS ON THE RESERVE ACTIVE-STATUS LIST › CHAPTER 1403 — SELECTION BOARDS › § 14102

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of each military department must pick who sits on selection boards. Promotion and special boards must have five or more officers. Other selection boards under 14101(b) must have three or more officers. Every member must be in the same military service as the officers being reviewed. At least one-half of the board members must be reserve officers, and the board must include at least one reserve officer from each reserve component being considered. Each member must hold a permanent grade higher than the officers under review, and no member can be below major or lieutenant commander. Boards should reflect the service’s diversity when possible. A board should include an officer from each competitive category being reviewed unless no eligible higher-grade officer is on the reserve active-status roster or the active-duty roster; in that case the Secretary may appoint a retired officer from that category who meets the grade and service rules. An officer may not sit on two back-to-back promotion boards for the same category and grade if the second board will reconsider someone the first board did not recommend.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §14102

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Appointment.—
Members of selection boards convened under section 14101 of this title shall be appointed by the Secretary of the military department concerned in accordance with this section. Promotion boards and special selection boards shall consist of five or more officers. Selection boards convened under section 14101(b) of this title shall consist of three or more officers. All of the officers of any such selection board shall be of the same armed force as the officers under consideration by the board.
(b)Composition.—
At least one-half of the members of such a selection board shall be reserve officers, to include at least one reserve officer from each reserve component from which officers are to be considered by the board. Each member of a selection board must hold a permanent grade higher than the grade of the officers under consideration by the board, and no member of a board may hold a grade below major or lieutenant commander. The members of a selection board shall represent the diverse population of the armed force concerned to the extent practicable.
(c)Representation of Competitive Categories.—
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), a selection board shall include at least one officer from each competitive category of officers to be considered by the board.
(2)A selection board need not include an officer from a competitive category to be considered by the board if there is no officer of that competitive category on the reserve active-status list or the active-duty list in a permanent grade higher than the grade of the officers to be considered by the board and otherwise eligible to serve on the board. However, in such a case, the Secretary of the military department concerned, in his discretion, may appoint as a member of the board a retired officer of that competitive category who is in the same armed force as the officers under consideration by the board who holds a higher grade than the grade of the officers under consideration.
(d)Prohibition of Service on Consecutive Promotion Boards.—
No officer may be a member of two successive promotion boards convened under section 14101(a) of this title for the consideration of officers of the same competitive category and grade if the second of the two boards is to consider any officer who was considered and not recommended for promotion to the next higher grade by the first of the two boards.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 3362(b), (c), 5893(a), (b), and 8362(b), (c) of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, § 1629(a)(1), (b)(2), (c)(1).

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283 inserted at end: “The members of a selection board shall represent the diverse population of the armed force concerned to the extent practicable.” 2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–136 substituted “Selection boards convened under section 14101(b) of this title” for “Continuation boards”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1691(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 10001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 14102

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110